Obviously, the iPhone image is half the resolution of the 16 Mpixel G3, but with a degree of Photoshop and with both downsized as JPEG files, I think you'll agree the, um, phone does a creditable job as a camera. The camera, on the other hand, wouldn't work as a phone, no matter in which direction I pointed it, or how loud I shouted into it. Nor would it let me look at my email, or check the traffic situation on the M3 going home from Winchester.
I think if your main interest was in simply recording what things looked like, and sharing small images with other phone and computer users, then the iPhone 4s is actually pretty remarkable. Though it does cost rather more than many decent cameras, of course...
On the other hand, I am very pleased indeed with the used G3 I bought a couple of months ago (having looked at the specs of the GX1, and thought, why not go for the same sensor with a built-in viewfinder?) and am perfectly happy with the free LG P500 Android smartphone that came with the cheapest pay monthly contract on Orange. The camera on that phone really is a POS, but everything else is fine.
Until someone comes up with something compellingly new -- say, the sort of array of linked multiple smartphone imagers that several people have proposed as a potential portable digital view camera (now wouldn't that be something?) -- I can't see serious photographers abandoning cameras any time soon, except as an equivalent to the "toy camera" work that some people do with Holgas, Dianas, and the like. And the iPhone is already too good for that, I'd say. But "convergence" is clearly the name of the game, and it can't be long before smart-ness starts being built into cameras. It would be handy to save backups of one's files in the Cloud, for example, or to email them to the News Desk, or to receive firmware updates directly.
I think I'd feel an idiot holding a camera to my ear, though.
5 comments:
I'm still finding my way around the Samsung. Having my Kindle library on board is fun, and I can view your 'Curriculum' now, courtesy of the free Aldiko app. Had a real problem trying to sync with my Mac, then discovered that Samsung and Apple are doing battle in the courts over copyright infringement. Strange, as Samsung apparently makes around 33% of the iPhone.
My built in camera isn't the best, but it's fine for snaps.
Martin,
I've become a smartphone Kindle addict, pulling my (Android) phone out at odd minutes for a read -- I love it, and it's actually much more readable than I would ever have imagined. Tip: my friend Gerry did some tests, and concluded that white on black text in Kindle used only a third as much battery. Worth knowing.
N.B. if you're tempted by the Blur e-book offer, I only discovered after getting hold of the iPhone that the e-book conversion can only handle certain type fonts -- hence the dog's breakfast on the title page, etc.
Mike
I'll bear in mind, Gerry's advice. I purchased Curriculum in ePub format some time ago. I know what you mean about the type fonts, but the photographs are just as impressive on the small screen.
I think I'd feel an idiot holding a camera to my ear, though.
Well, unless you were trying to find out if your attempts at auricular hair elimination had been totally successful: I'm no Midas (I'm thinking of the 'ass's ears' legend, rather than the 'turning everything he touches to gold' legend, although I'm no Midas at that either) but finding a long hair growing out of tragus, helix or lobe and thinking: "How have I missed that before it got so huge?" is depressing.
Although further thought suggests photographing your ear to see how hirsute it is today is probably something you'd only want to do when no one else was about anyway …
Thank you for sharing, Martyn...
Actually, it did strike me when I was accidentally photographing myself with the back-facing camera on the iPhone that it could also function as a e-mirror...
Mike
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